Under The Skin
by Kingkessler
Summary: (Original Story) After a massacre at his school that he caused, Cobie Fells discovers he has a "Gift". Recruited by a secret government project he must learn how to live his new partner. A challenge is issued to the city and a man named Director Price must choose two teams of two to form a team of four to go and fight for the city in a survival game. Will the duo step up or fail?
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my story! I'm so happy that you're here to read my work! Before you start please know that I am trying to update this story as much and as soon as possible. If you enjoy or you would like to tell me what's wrong with something please let me know in the comments! Other wise enjoy!**

 **Under The Skin**

 **Austin Kessler**

 **1**

"I don't remember much about my time as a kid," Cobie announced to the silhouetted man sitting in front of him. A light behind the man gave out only his black outline. The light that wasn't blocked by the man's body burned into Cobie's eyes.

"You have to realize that you are still a child. How about this, why don't you tell about the events from a couple days ago?" The mysterious man asked. Cobie's mother's still face appeared into mind. It looked like she was asleep, but he knew what he did.

"It . . . It was an accident. I never meant to hurt her, or anyone else." All of a sudden all of their faces flooded in, he couldn't stop it. All the people he hurt, they all invaded his mind.

"We understand that you didn't mean it, Cobie. But, we need to know how this all happened. You're not in trouble, you have to understand that you are not alone."

"What do you mean I'm not alone? I don't care if I'm not in trouble! I killed people! How am I supposed to live with that?" Cobie yelled at the man, tears welling up in his eyes. He pulled against the chains on his wrists, securing him to the metal table.

"We all find a way to cope, Cobie. As for not being alone," he gave a small pause. "You'll find out soon enough."

"I just. . . I just want to sleep. I want to be dead." A sudden wave of depression hit Cobie. All he could hear was the screams from his mother as she fell into his arms. The way she contorted and twisted the foam in her mouth, and the blood coming from her eyes. It all made him sick. He didn't deserve to live. He was a monster. He killed people, and he will never be able to live with that thought.

"Look. Cobie, we know that you're tired, but we cannot allow you to rest until you let us know what happened. It will help you out to remember."

"I already told you that I don't remember anything." Cobie said looking down at his metal bindings. He could almost see the serpent living in his hands.

"It won't do you any good to lie to us. We know that you remember everything. You can remember their faces, every detail right?" Cobie shivered as the tears fell from his eyes.

"I don't want to remember," Cobie said through his sobs. "It hurts so much, I just want to forget." Tears are now streaming from his eyes and falling down onto his hands. He bent his head down onto his hands and prayed for death. A minute or two passed, but to Cobie it felt like hours of him praying for his end.

"Hey there, it's okay to be sad. You hurt people, but it was all an accident. You're safe here." This wasn't the mysterious man. It was softer, gentler, and familiar. Cobie looked up to see the short red head that called out to him in the darkness. She bent down to his eye level.

She's beautiful, Cobie thought. She must be about my age, if not older.

Even though this isn't the first time he's seen this girl, his heart skips a beat when looking into her hazel eyes. Her smile calmed him down and for some reason he forgot all his problems. Even the serpent that swam in him was quite.

She reached out for his hand and he snapped out of his trance. "No! Don't touch me! I don't want to hurt you too!" Cobie pulled against his restraints trying to get away from the hand coming toward him. This can't be happening, he though. He didn't want to hurt another person.

"It's okay, it'll be okay. I promise," she said, snapping Cobie back to looking at her. "It's okay. I can touch you and it won't hurt me. I promise I'll be okay." Cobie closed his eyes not wanting to watch her die. He wished he had the ability to block his ears so that he won't have to listen to it either.

When he felt her hand touch his he braced himself for the shocked scream then the sound of a body hitting the ground. To his surprise, nothing happened.

When Cobie opened his eyes she spoke softly, "You're human, not a monster. And you're scared I get that, but this," she gestured to her hand on his. "This is showing you that you don't have to be afraid, that we are here with you and that you aren't alone. You can tell your story. I'll be here for you the entire time." She then squeezed his hand.

Cobie looked across the table to see that the mysterious man was patently watching the exchange. "Are you ready?" He asked Cobie.

With a glance to his right, Cobie saw the girl's reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'll tell you how it happened."

"Good, know let's begin." The man stated.

"On one condition," Cobie said.

"And that is?"

"Afterwards, you kill me." The girl jumped at the sternness in his voice and the man gave an annoyed sigh.

"Stop being so dramatic, give it time and you'll get over it. We've all killed here. The first time is painful, even scarring. Mine was my wife and kids. We never mean to do it, but it just happens. Learn to live with it and you'll get stronger." The man said with an annoyed tone.

"But-, "Cobie was cut off as sudden pain exploded on his cheek. He looked over to see the girl standing there with tears falling down her face.

"You idiot," She snapped. "Do you think that your mom would want you to die for her? You have the chance to do something great here! Who do you think you are to throw away your life after your mom already gave it for you?"

"You don't understand," Cobie replied.

"Both you and I have killed people close to us. I understand more than you think. You're selfish if you want to die. You just want to escape the pain that you caused and not even try to atone for it. We can give you a better life, were you can learn to be strong and protect those who can't protect themselves. If you die imagine all those who will die because you were too selfish to even live with the burden we all carry."

"What are you talking about? Protect people? Where am I? Who are you guys?" Cobie starting asking questions looking back between the girl and the man.

"This is extremely annoying," the man said. Suddenly the back light was switched off and the LED lights in the ceiling turned on. An older man with gray hair and a worn face leaned forward, put his elbows on the table, and rested his chin on his fists. "My name is Anthony Price. Director of this city's Protector Guild, a secret government organization that protects the city from outside threats using unique talents. Now, because you have developed your talents you will be put into training to become a protector. Every protector has a partner and a team of four that they belong to. We usually wait to assign a partner until you have been acclimated to the other students, but it seems that Taylor has already been chosen as your partner. You can't see it but its there. A bond has been made. That bond cannot be broken now."

"I have so many questions," Cobie said, leaning back into his chair. "Like what do you mean by talent? And what do you protect the city from? And students? What do you mean by all this?"

"A talent is what some people call it. Some call it a power or just simply their gift or ability. We protect the city from those searching to destroy us and other cities looking to take over our land. We run missions to the betterment of our government and city. As for the rest, you'll learn more as you progress." Anthony said with a smile.

Cobie felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Taylor's smile looking down at him. So many smiles after what he just witnessed. "Why should I join you? Why should I help this city?"

"Because," it was Taylor's turn to talk as she started behind him. "You get to fight to protect those who can't themselves. You don't get recognized, but when you see families smiling and loving each other, you know that it's because of you."

"Have you fought before?" Cobie asked looking up at her.

"No, but I've seen the faces of those who do. It's surreal and amazing to see them happy to see other people happy because of their efforts." She gave a cute smile then added something else in. "Oh and another plus is that you get to work with a pretty girl like me."

"I'm glad you're modest." Cobie said with a small laugh and turned to Anthony. Suddenly he was surprised that he just laughed and that he was comfortable with Taylor's hand on his shoulder. With his mind made up, Cobie talked. "I'll tell you what happened, but first I think I'll be okay to be out of these handcuffs." Anthony gave another smile and nodded toward the mirror on the wall. Suddenly the bindings snapped open so Cobie could move his arms. He rubbed his wrists and began to tell his story.


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

He woke up just like any other day, except he felt a little bit more energetic than usual as the morning sun streamed into his room. Cobie looked around his bedroom to see all of his posters hanging up reminding him of his favorite bands and games. Knowing that school awaited him in a few hours he rolled out of his comfy bed and wandered into the bathroom.

This is weird, he thought while brushing his teeth in the dirty mirror he grew up using. He's this energetic in the morning. Maybe it's just a good night's sleep, but then he remembered his dream. He laid in his bed as a thousand snakes took their turns biting him. Others just opened their mouths and poison streamed out and into his nostrils filling him with pain. He remembered waking up halfway through the night after his dream in a cold sweat, but he fell right back to sleep.

"That's weird," Cobie said to himself as he walked out of the bathroom and back to his to change.

"What's weird?" He heard his mom ask from behind him.

"Nothing really, just the dream I had last night. I was just thinking out loud." Cobie said at the entrance to his bedroom.

"Okay. Oh, by the way, when is your award ceremony today? I want to get there early and get a good seat. I can't believe my boy is graduating in a couple of days!" His mom said with a happy smile.

"It's at noon. You don't have to come mom, I won't be getting much anyway." Cobie said leaning against his door frame.

"Nonsense, of course I'll come. It's not every day you see your baby boy grow up." She said as she turned around and made her way down the stairs before he could refuse.

Shaking his head, Cobie went back into his room to finish getting dressed.

When Cobie got out of his old beat up car another, better looking car swung into the spot next to him. The driver got out a second later and ran up to Cobie. "Hey, man! You ready for all of those awards that we aren't going to get!" Cobie's friend Darren exclaimed.

"Yeah, we won't get much. I mean I might get the choir scholarship but it's iffy. There are a lot of good singers here." Cobie said, opening the school door for Darren. "Ladies first."

"Oh, you're such a gentleman," Darren said pretending to be flustered. Once they were in the school heading to their lockers Darren spoke up. "I wouldn't worry about it man, you're a great singer. Ivan can suck one, he sucks compared to you."

"I don't know man. But, hey, aren't you getting that computer science scholarship?" Cobie said getting to his locker.

"Yeah, it was easy. I mean I was the only one even qualified for it."

"Well that's what you get for being a nerd."

"Look who's talking," Darren said. He wasn't wrong, Cobie was a nerd thin, pale, and weak. Cobie loved to play video games and listen to music. So, he couldn't argue with Darren.

"Screw you man," Cobie said, giving him a small punch in the chest. He meant it as a joke and didn't even hit him too hard but Darren yelled out in pain holding where he was punched. "Dude, don't be a bitch. I didn't even hit you that hard."

"Dude, it's not that," Darren said rubbing his chest." It just felt like I got stabbed or something. It's weird."

"Yeah, well class is starting soon so I'll see you around man." Cobie said, checking his watch.

"Yeah man, I'll see you." Darren said, walking away holding his chest. Cobie watched him walk away clutching his chest and wondered what just happened. He didn't have much time to reflect because the bell rang signaling the first class of the day was going to start.

With a quick stop by his locker, Cobie grabbed his phone along with his headphones. He didn't really care much for school, or at least he didn't care much about the uninteresting parts like history or math. What he wanted to do was just get out of the school and make a shared game company with Darren. Darren was going to school for business to help with running the company while Cobie was more interested in art and advertising. He didn't really need history or math classes to help him.

Knowing that today was going to be short thanks to the award ceremony at noon, Cobie didn't grab any books before heading to class. When he walked into his first period class he was slightly relieved to see Mr. Calliham on his phone. This told him that his math class was going to be laid back just as he expected.

Without making his presence known, Cobie made his way to his desk in the back of the room and put on his headphones. With his world disappearing into a world of loud music, he got onto his favorite art website for inspiration for new advertising ideas.

Cobie's thoughts went back to Darren as he viewed the featured art. He wondered if he would be okay. There was no way his punch could have dealt that much pain. Like he was stabbed? Maybe he was just joking, or maybe I hit a sore muscle, Cobie thought. Either way Cobie thought it would be okay.

Just then someone bumped into his desk. When Cobie looked up he saw it was the short timid girl that was assigned the desk beside him. She said something but Cobie couldn't hear her through the pulsing music in his ears.

"What?" He asked her, taking off his headphones.

"I said that I was sorry for bumping you," she said quietly. Cobie watched her eyes as they wandered to his phone. They widened when she saw what was on the screen. "You like art?"

"Yeah, I was just looking for ideas," Cobie replied.

"What do you think of this one?" She asked, reaching over him and tapping on a colorful picture at the bottom of the features. It showed a setting sun but in it was what seemed like a mother and daughter dancing while a man's silhouette watched.

"It's not bad," Cobie said, wondering why she asked. "You like art too?" He looked at her too see that she was starting to shy away from him and color was starting to fill in her cheeks.

"Yeah, I actually uh, drew that one." She said with a nervous smile.

"I'm guessing you're going to school for art?" He asked wondering all the while why he's never noticed the cute girl that sat next to him.

"Actually I am," she said sitting down with a smile.

"What school are you thinking about?" Cobie said, admiring the way she subtly moves her brunette hair behind her ear.

"I've actually already been accepted to the college in the northern part of the city."

"No freaking way, me too," Cobie said with a smile, "looks like we might see each other around campus."

"I hope so," She smiled. "It's weird how we've sat next to each other for this long and never even spoken. My names Natalie"

"Yeah, I was just thinking that. My name's Cobie," he said holding his hand out. Even though his face seemed confident and cool his heart was racing and his hand was tingling. She leaned forward to shake his hand and the closer her hand got to his the more it tingled. When she grabbed his hand he felt as if energy was just released like he just shocked her.

A scream rang out in the room. It was feminine and pained causing the whole room look back at Cobie and Natalie. She was holding her hand in pain like she just broke it. She was pale as a ghost and looked like she was about to be sick.

"Hey, are you okay?" Cobie asked, putting my hand on her shoulder. Again it felt like he shocked her again and she screamed out in pain throwing her hand to her shoulder.

Her whole body started to shake and she fell out of her seat. Mr. Calliham ran to her side and yelled out for everyone to back up. When Cobie did he bumped into someone behind him with his shoulder and felt another release. The person screamed and dropped down the ground in pain. When Cobie turned around to see him on the ground he was having a seizure. Blood poured out of his mouth and my heart started to beat faster.

"What's going on?" Cobie asked himself as he backed out of the classroom. He didn't hear much past the screams of panic, but he did see Natalie on the ground completely still. He saw Mr. Calliham mouth the word dead right before he told everyone to get out of the room and to call nine-one-one. The guy on the ground stopped seizing and laid still with blood draining from his mouth and nose.

Cobie turned and ran to the bathrooms feeling sick. One of the stalls was closed as he ran into the far one. He vomited and started to cry, not only from the acid in his throat but also from the images he just saw.


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

"Let's stop there for now," Anthony said, cutting Cobie off.

"What do you mean stop? Why force me to tell you my story if all you're going to do is stop me in the middle of it? What's the point?" Cobie questioned, leaning forward. He felt a hand on his shoulder and flinch away only to realize it was Taylor. Cobie was about to continue until he heard a yawn from behind him.

"That would be the reason," Anthony said. "It's late, around twenty-three hundred anyway. You and Taylor have a busy day tomorrow. It's your first day of school anyways." He smiled and crossed his arms as if challenging Cobie.

Cobie took the bait. "What do you mean by my class starts tomorrow? I never agreed to join your school! I never asked for this 'gift!'"

"Well now that you know what we are and what we do, we cannot let you run away to spill the beans. I was hoping you would agree since you did tell us your story. But, I suppose I was wrong. So, I'll give you three options if you'd like to hear them." Anthony's smile dropped as he stood up and put his hands on the table to support himself.

"Of course," Cobie said, happy to have might find some hope, but strange enough he felt Taylor's hand on his shoulder tighten up. That gave him a slight sense of anxiety. What does he care, he just met her. But still, for some reason he could feel her tension.

"Alright, Cobie, I want you to think each one over carefully. Option one is that you remain here and train in my school to fight the evils outside the city and when needed defeat other city's challenges. Option two is indefinite incarceration where you will be kept in a cell the rest of your life losing control of your unpracticed talent until it kills you. The third option is the one that your partner is most afraid you'd choose. Option three is medical execution." He spit it out like he just shot an arrow aimed at Cobie. "You would feel no pain, but it's cost is more than just your life, but your partners life as well."

"What do you mean by that? Everything that you say never makes any sense!" Cobie slammed his palm onto the table. "How would me choosing to die in turn kill my partner?"

"Oh I forgot to mention that if you choose the second option you will be jailed with your partner," Anthony said.

"Why does my decision affect her?" Cobie said in a whisper. He knew that he didn't want to die. But why, what happened? He turned his head toward Taylor. It was her he realized. In the past couple of minutes she convinced him that he didn't want to die anymore. She must have been afraid because she didn't want Cobie to choose if she lived or died.

"Choose carefully. You'll have two days to think it over. Just remember, Cobie. It's not just your future on the line." Anthony turned to leave the room.

That's right. Cobie didn't want to die. For the moment his pain turned to anger toward Anthony Price. His heart pounded and he could feel the poising in his veins cry for blood. But, despite this he knew he could not kill this man without getting himself killed along with Taylor. Why did he care for her anyway? He just met her. Maybe this bond thing Anthony talked about is a real thing. It didn't matter, he wasn't about to kill or throw this girl into jail.

"Wait," Cobie said, standin up straight looking down at the table. He heard Anthony's footsteps stop then turn towards him. "I'll go to your school, I'll fight your evil. But, it won't be for you. It'll be for those who I've lost. I can't explain it but I'm going to fight for my partner too." Cobie looked up at Anthony, his heart pounding and the itch for blood coursing through his hands.

Anthony looked down to his hands. "I see, good choice. I'm sure that you'll have questions but they will be answered in time. Your partner will show you your living space. I hope you don't mind having a roommate." He turned to Taylor. "Congratulations, you've found your partner. Now you finally start class like your peers. I wish you both the best of luck. If you need me please, come find me. Fight hard, find victory." With that Anthony turned and left the room.

Taylor grabbed Cobie's hand and started to bounce up and down. "This is awesome! I've been waiting for my partner for so long. I mean you're not much to look at, but I'm sure that'll change." She said with a smile, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Wait. What? Not much to look at? I thought we were partners. Since when do partners care about each other's looks?"

She stopped bouncing and started laughing. "Stupid, I didn't mean it like that. I meant muscle," She said grabbing his bicep. "You'll need to work hard to catch up."

"You mean lifting?" Cobie was dreading the answer.

"And running, can't forget about cardio!" She took off her black hoodie to show that she was wearing to reveal her slender yet muscular frame. She had on just a plain white t-shirt and rolled it up to show off her biceps that out shined his by at least three miles. "Anyways, I should show you our suite." She put her hoodie back on and started to walk away.

"Our suite?" Cobie asked, catching up to her.

"Yep," She opened the door and the two walked into a hallway. It was well lit with the occasional person wearing shorts and t-shirt would walk through to a vending machine or to knock on a door. Every so often there was a door with a number on it and two names while some only had one. "Partners share a suite together as to build the bond that they need in order to fight together. The stronger that bond the better the team will be."

"Okay, I guess that makes some sense at least. But this place looks like a dormitory." Cobie said as he passed a guy talking to a girl trying to get her to let him into her suite. She only had one name tag on the door. "Why would Anthony put an interrogation room in the middle of a dorm?"

"Director Price has the ability to bend reality. He is extremely powerful, we came out of the interrogation room, but only because he designed that door to put us near out suite after he left. You'll learn more about this place the longer you're here." She stopped at a door and turned towards it.

"This is ours then." On it was Taylor's full name. 'Taylor Nelson.' "When do I get my name on it?"

"Right now. Put your thumb on this right here." She pointed at a small, blank name tag under hers. On it was what she was pointing to. It was a grew circle to the far right of the tag. He did as she said.

An automated voice spoke up. "Partner recognized. Cobie Fell. Welcome home." Cobie's name showed up on the tag right under Taylor's and the dead bolt to the door clicked open. He looked at her and she nodded. Cobie twisted the handle and opened the door.

He walked in to see a small living room with a small kitchen off to the side. It was well kept and clean. The living room had a love seat, coffee table, and TV. It filled half the room with the kitchen getting the other half.

"Welcome home Cobie. Let me give you the grand tour." Taylor said, letting the door close behind her, but not before he could hear someone say something along the lines of how he was lucky to get a girl partner. The door automatically locked.

"This is my room," she said leading him over to a door on the left side of the room. "If you ever want to go in, please knock first or just let me know."

"Okay, noted," Cobie said, although he was sure he wasn't planning on going in there too often. He was glad that they got their own rooms at least.

With a smile and a nod she led him over to a door on the left side of the room. "Here's the bathroom, since you don't have any soap or shampoo, you can borrow mine for the time being, I don't mind."

"Thanks," Cobie said softly with his head lulling side to side.

"Are you okay?" Taylor asked. In truth he was overwhelmed by everything and exhausted. After what happened today all he wanted was to sleep.

"Yeah, just really tired."

"Yeah, I'm actually fighting to stay awake right now. It's like twelve thirty." She said checking the time from a clock by the door. "Here, I'll show you your bed and we can hit the hay."

"Sounds great," he said as he followed her to the other door on the left side of the room. She opened it and showed him his bed. It was all he saw in the room before he fell into it and passed out.


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

Cobie woke up to light streaming into the room and onto his face from a window on the right wall. With a yawn he sat up rubbing his eye. Blankets fell off of his chest and he looked around at his surroundings. He didn't see much but four white walls, a wooden dresser and desk pushed against the back wall. Pushed into the desk was a small regular chair with blue cushions. He didn't know why the chair caught his eye but he just shrugged it off.

He threw the blankets off of his legs and swung his body to sit on the edge of the bed. Cobie eyed the blankets and tried to remember getting under them. When the memory didn't come there was a knock on his door. Still groggy, Cobie pushed himself up to his feet and walked to the closed door. When he opened it he saw a bright eyed and smiling Taylor.

"Good morning!" She said a little too loud making Cobie wince. She stopped smiling and looked at his clothes. "Crap, you need new clothes don't you?"

"Hey, I like these clothes," Cobie said in vain as Taylor ignored him and started to ramble to herself about his sizes. She was measuring his chest in her head when he snapped his fingers. "Hey, my eyes are up here."

She looked up into his eyes and laughed. "Oh right, I guess I forgot to tell you that there's a school uniform. I've had mine for a while waiting for my partner. But since you're new you won't have it. I should've ordered it last night, but it slipped my mind."

"And how long does it take to get a uniform. We have class starting today apparently."

"Well, we have a couple of uniforms, one for combat training, one for simulations, and one for school. This one is my school uniform obviously, and in there are the other two." She pointed to a duffel bag lying on the couch. Her uniform was a pair of black slacks with a black button-up over shirt with what seemed like the school's crest on the left breast pocket. Under that was a white shirt. It wasn't anything special looking, but what could he expect from a secret government program.

"So I'm guessing that my uniform is going to look something a little like what you're wearing?" He was dreading having to wear a school uniform but it wasn't something he could avoid. He was government property now.

"Yep! Isn't it so cool! I've been waiting forever to wear this!" She said almost jumping.

"How long have you been here? I mean you keep saying that you've had to wait for a bunch of things, especially a partner." Cobie said slightly tilting his head.

"I've been waiting for three years." Her smile disappeared and her face darkened a little. Cobie felt a small ping of sadness and apathy in his chest. He didn't know why maybe it was because of the link that's formed between the two. "But, I'd rather not talk about it right now." She smiled and the sadness in Cobie's chest disappeared. "You need a shower. Give me your sizes and I'll order your clothes for school. They should be here before you're out if not a little bit after.

Cobie told her his sizes and she thanked him pulling out her cell and walked away towards the couch. He made his way to the bathroom and realized how much he actually smelled. How could she have dealt with this smell, it's terrible, Cobie thought.

Once inside the bathroom he closed the door and looked around. He saw two sinks in front of a long mirror. A toilet sat in the far corner and built into the wall was a shower with a frosted over glass door. The whole bathroom smelled like strawberries and some other kinds of fruits he couldn't make out. It was funny, he's never actually been in a girl's bathroom, even if this was technically his bathroom too, he still counted it.

He stripped and opened the shower door to see under the shower head in the wall was a concave slot for bottles and soap. And that's what was exactly there. Body wash, shampoo, and conditioner filled up the slot. All either scented strawberry or kiwi, which must have been the other fruit he smelled. Shaking his head he closed the shower door and turned on the faucet. Hot water streamed onto his chest and he exhaled with pleasure as the sweat and grime from the past couple of days got washed off him.

Cobie bent his head down and looked at his hands as water poured onto his back. He looked at the hands that killed so many. None of it his fault but he couldn't help but think about their faces as they touched him and screamed in pain. "My ability is to kill." He whispered to himself. "Why? I didn't want this. All I wanted was to make a company with my best friend but I." Cobie stopped as he saw his Darren's body go still and his contorted face went slack. He closed his eyes and tears streamed down his face. "I'm a monster. I am a monster." He repeated this over and over again as he washed up with his fruity smelling soap and shampoo.

He walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and steam following him into the living room. "Hey, strawberry, your clothes are on your bed along with a duffle bag, backpack. There are school supplies in the backpack." Taylor said from the couch watching some sitcom.

Great, Cobie thought, I'm a strawberry now. But even so, he couldn't help but chuckle.

On his bed he found underwear, socks, and the three school uniforms. He put on the regular uniform and found a shoe box with black loafers in them. The only difference with the male and female uniforms is that the males have to wear black ties. He then moved onto the other uniforms. He put the simulation uniform into the duffle back first. It was kind of heavy but it looked like some kind of synthetic type of clothes that felt like a gel in his hands. It came with black boots and high socks. The training clothes were a lot lighter because they were just a white t-shirt with the school's insignia on the left side, black shorts, white no show socks, and regular white sneakers.

He zipped up the duffle bag and put it on his shoulder then but the backpack on. Taylor wasn't kidding either. The bag was stocked with pencils, pens, and notebooks. He technically already graduated. He wanted to go to college but not for how to be a killer.

When Cobie walked out of his room he smelled something great. "Breakfasts done," Taylor said with crossed legs, still watching TV.

"Awesome," Cobie said as he set down his gear by the couch and walked over to the kitchen area to grab food. His stomach was growling when he sat next to Taylor and watched her show. He wolfed down the eggs and bacon that she made and tried to make sense of the show. It had something to do with an alien and a robot trying to make a life and stay hidden in urban society. It was kind of stupid.

"I felt it," Taylor said right as Cobie finished his meal.

His heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean by you felt it?" He asked looking at her dumbfounded.

"Your sadness, regret, your pain," she said putting her hand over her chest. "I felt it in my chest. We're partners, Cobie. That means I can feel your pain and sadness and you can feel mine. We're connected and the closer we become as partners then the stronger our connection will be and we can even communicate through our bond. But I think to start this journey together we will need to trust each other." She held out her hand to him. "I can trust that you won't hurt me. Can you trust me?"

Cobie was speechless as he stared at her hand outstretched to her. He could feel her warmth, but he could also feel the serpent in him screaming for death. He didn't want to hurt her like he did the so many others. He sat there for a minute until he made his choice. He reached out and grabbed her hand. Nothing happened to her. She just smiled and the serpent calmed. He was warmed and he smiled. He couldn't explain it but he was happy to find someone he couldn't kill by touching, someone who can calm him and the beast in him.

"I trust you," he said. Then it felt as if something happened between them. Something formed like a tether that pulled them closer. The full bond was created and he could feel her happiness. It happened, they were partners. Cobie knew that somewhere Price smiled.

There was a knock on the suite door and an automated voice spoke out, "visitor acknowledged. Dexter Ito, alias Halitus. Cobie looked at Taylor with suspicion.

"Who's that?" He asked when a knock came again.

"Visitor requesting entry," the automated voice said. Taylor stood up and walked to the door and opened it.

"So you're the one escorting us to class then?" She asked, her body and the open door blocked the face of Dexter.

"Yeah, I can early encase you needed to get ready but I suppose you already are. Where's your partner?" There was a kind of annoyance in his voice that made it seem like he didn't want to be there.

"He's inside," Taylor said stepping aside letting the man in. He had sleek black hair that fell to his shoulders and his eyes squinted. He had a tall and slender body frame but Cobie could still see his muscles under the school uniform.

When he reached the couch where Cobie was sitting he reached out his hand. Cobie flinched back not wanting Dexter to touch him. "What, gonna leave me hanging? That's not very nice, especially to your escort."

Cobie started stuttering, "I . . . It's n . . . not that. I can't touch you." Taylor's hand fell on his shoulder.

"But she can?" He asked annoyed.

"Cobie, it's okay. You can shake his hand. As long as I'm here I can negate your powers." Taylor sounded so sure. She knew all about him but he knew so little about her. He then remembered the pact they just made. He said he would trust her, so he would do just that. He reached out and shook Dexter's hand.

"The first thing you need is a weapon that complements your powers. Like mine," he seemed to pull two daggers out from nowhere and a stream of smoke flowed from the tip of the blades. "My power is to summon a smoke screen. It can hide my partner and I, but it can also suffocate my enemies. I have the two daggers because no one sees it coming from the smoke." He seemed to like to talk about himself.

Cobie's interests were peaked nonetheless, "what do you think my weapon would be?"

"Well that depends. What's your power?" Dexter asked looking down to Cobie.

Cobie didn't like talking about his ability too much, it was going to be a callous in his heart for a long time. His sudden sadness was washed away but a surge of confidence. He felt the pull in his chest and glanced over at Taylor. She was walking, back straight, eyes forward, and smiling. He said a quiet thanks and told Dexter his truth. "I have a poison in my skin. When I touch someone that poison is released and that person dies almost immediately and painfully."

"But, you shook my hand," Dexter said stopping.

Taylor stopped behind him. "My ability is to create shields and to shield back powers. I can stop his poison from activating when I'm near him. That is why he didn't kill you." I gave a quick nod.

"Right, I see. Well for you, Cobie, you might get some kind of sword because it seems like you have to be close to use your powers effectively. Don't worry about the type, you'll know when you see it. And for miss shield over there she might get a javelin or spear. Something to give her reach," Dexter said with a smile.

"Okay, that kind of makes sense," Cobie said looking ahead seeing that they were headed to a set of elevators.

"Yep, the school house is underground along with the armory. So, that's where we're headed."

As the three of them climbed into the elevator Cobie stood beside Taylor and asked her if she was okay.

"I'm fine, I just don't like Halitus very much," she said with a bite.

"Halitus?"

"That's my alias or code name. In the schoolhouse you will address everyone by their alias. It's a security measure and it's used to get everyone using that instead of real names in the battlefield. You'll both be getting yours later today." And with that, the elevator went down to Cobie's new life of training and warfare.


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

"Do I smell strawberries?" Dexter asked as the elevator went down.

Cobie gave a forced laugh. "It must be Taylor's shampoo or something." Taylor looked at him and winked.

"I don't use strawberry shampoo. It's actually unscented." Taylor said with a smile.

Dexter turned towards Cobie with a devious smile. "So you use strawberry shampoo Cobie?"

Cobie exhaled, "why do you do this to me," he asked Taylor who continued to smile.

"Don't worry, Cobie, we don't judge here," Dexter said as he turned to face forward away from Cobie.

With his mood soured, Cobie crossed his arms. There was a tug of reassurance from his bond to Taylor. He knew she was only messing around with him, but for some reason he still got mad. He told himself that he needed to get his anger in check.

A few seconds later the doors opened the group was greeted by two guards. They were wearing the schools combat outfit. One had a katana on his back while the other had throwing knives on his waist.

"Hold for scan," the one with the katana said with an annoyed sigh. Dexter stood still as they held out a scanner that swept through the area of the elevator.

A robotic voice from the scanner rang out. "Three entities noted, Halitus, recruit unnamed, recruit unnamed. Clear for entry."

"Newbies? Don't hurt them Halitus." The one with throwing knives asked.

"Shut up Frost," Dexter said as he pushed passed him and his partner, Cobie and Taylor behind him.

Once they rounded a corner Cobie spoke up, "Don't like that guy?"

"No, you'll find out later, but he's just an asshole who tries to pick on the new guys to seem strong." Dexter answered, eyes straight forward as if he was looking for someone.

The walls were lit up by zigzagging lines that changed colors from red to blue to purple and back to red. The floors were just regular white linoleum and the ceiling had signs pointing down separate corridors. The group passed one that said battle arena that piqued Cobie's interest.

After some time of walking past what seemed to be the same halls over and over again, the group reached a door that had a sign above it displaying it as the armory. Dexter put his hand on a scanner to the right of the door.

"Halitus recognized. Two unnamed entities noted, do you wish to sponsor?" Asked a robotic voice.

"Yes," Dexter said rolling his eyes. The door unlocked with a click and Dexter swung it open to reveal the armory. As the group entered the door shut behind them and locked. The armory had weapons displayed everywhere. They looked to be organized by type of weapon. Swords were on the far right side. Spears were toward the middle in an aisle consisting of staff like weapons. In the back there was another door and the sound of metal being forged could be heard.

"Hello there," a skinny woman with short blue hair popped up from behind the counter at the back. "What can I do for you?"

Dexter walked forward to the counter. "I have two new recruits who need to be set up with weapons."

"Oh, no problem please, step forward and we'll figure out what to get you too." She waved at Cobie beckoning him to the counter.

When he reached the counter she held out her hand to him to take. Cobie felt a pull in the bond from Taylor. He laid his hand on hers and she closed her eyes. Instantly she frowned then pulled her hand back as if she just got shocked. Holding her hand she looked at Cobie with disbelief. She shook her head and started to speak, "you kill with a touch, so you'll need a weapon that allows you to get close. A sword would fit you best, they're over there." She pointed to the right wall.

"Thanks," Cobie said, eyeing her hand. There was a small burn on it, he thought that Taylor was holding back his abilities. Cobie sent a small prayer hoping that she wouldn't die. He turned his back and walked to the swords.

They were all made from what seemed like the same metal. He didn't know blacksmithing or what the metal was so he wasn't too sure what to look for. He saw many different types of swords. Some had a spike on the pommel, others had no guard. He saw one that looked like something used for fencing. It had an interesting guard and hilt. Cobie wasn't the fancy kind of person though, so he just let it be. Nothing he was looking at actually caught his eye. All he saw were chunks of metal that he couldn't dream of using proficiently.

"Still looking?" He heard Taylor ask from behind him. She was holding a long spear that was a little taller than she was. It was sleek black with a shiny blade at the top. The hand holds were wrapped in black leather.

"Yeah, I see you found something for yourself." Cobie said, looking the spear up and down.

"It's not much yet, but I can still modify it to the way I like." She said with a small smile, tightening her grip on the shaft.

"How did you know which one to get? All of these look the same," Cobie said looking back at the arrangement of swords.

"Well, it was easy for me. It felt like it called out to me you know, like I'm supposed to hold it. You don't have that feeling about any of these?" Taylor asked, peeking over his shoulder.

"No, none of them," Cobie sighed.

"Still looking?" The woman at the counter asked. She walked over to where Cobie was standing helplessly looking at swords. "You know this usually doesn't take this long. One calls out as soon as it's looked at." She put her hand on her hips.

"None of them are. They all just look like metal sticks," Cobie looked at the thin woman. "I'm sorry I hurt you, I didn't want to."

"It's no problem. I'll tell you a secret though," the woman leaned in and lowered her voice so only Cobie could hear her. "Only the powerful students burn me." When she stood up she gave a smile. "My names Hera, I can see the powers of the students here at the academy. That's why I run the armory, because I can point them to the right weapon." She pointed at Dexter, then Taylor, and finally at Cobie. "And I think I know what you need." She turned away leaving Cobie in small shock at her "secret."

"So what did she tell you," Dexter piped in, making Cobie jump.

"N . . . Nothing really, just something about her ability," Cobie looked at his hands. Powerful?

When Hera returned her hands were behind her back. "This is something our smith made a long time ago. When it would refuse to claim a wielder her pulled it from the shelf, calling it a failure, but he never destroyed it." She showed the sword that was behind her back, or the hilt of it anyways. "I know it doesn't look like much, but here, take it." She held it out for Cobie to take.

Just looking at the sword made Cobie timid as if the sword itself was shy. He couldn't seem to look away. Slowly he picked up the hilt and instantly felt a rush of belonging. He held the hilt out in front of him and the sword jerked as the blade came into being from the hilt. It was segmented to be able to collapse. The sword was light and when Cobie moved it, it sang with joy. This was going to be his sword.

"Its name is Pravus. Our smith gave it that name when it wouldn't claim anyone. But now, it belongs to you. I would love to say congratulations, but you don't even have your name yet. So, come back when you do." Hera put her hands on her hips with a smug look.

"It's time to go guys. The next thing we have to do is evaluate your abilities in battle. How well you fight and all that," Dexter said, walking to the door.

Cobie and Taylor ran to catch up. "You mean that we're going to fight someone?"

Dexter shook his head and explained. "No, you don't spar anyone until you can control your powers enough not to kill someone by accident. You'll be fighting bots that die like humans. It's not as easy as it sounds."

The group walked in silence until they reached the sigh that said battle arena. Go down that corridor and you should see changing rooms. Go in there, get dressed in your combat gear, and wait for the doors to open."

Taylor looked excited, while Cobie was dreading the battle. How was he supposed to fight if he hasn't ever had any practice?

"Oh, and you're going to be evaluated as a team. Good luck." Dexter walked down the hall away from the battle arena.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Cobie called out.

"To class, duh," Dexter said that as if it were obvious. "I'm done with my part. You'll be picked up by your instructors after the eval." He turned away again and turned the corner.

"He's an ass," Taylor said, fixing the backpack strap. In it was her spear which could collapse for storage. Pravus was collapsed inside Cobie's duffel bag. "Let's go do this." She said with enthusiasm.

"How can you be so cheery about this?" We're going to crash and burn. I've never fought before." Cobie said, as they turned toward the changing rooms.

"It's not a pass or fail. It's to test how good you are. It will also test our abilities as teammates. IF we do poorly we will get put into basic fighting classes. I've heard that each week, we eval again to try and rank up to the next trainer based on our performance." Taylor explained.

"That's just a rumor though, there's no proof behind it. What if we can only eval once a year?" Cobie asked as they reached the changing rooms. There was only one door and the sigh above it read "Team Changing Room."

"Then we only eval once a year, there's nothing we can do about it. But they need to push out fighters so I can see it being weekly." She opened the door for Cobie and he stopped.

"Alright that makes sense. We have to change together?"

"Yes, now stop bring so dramatic. The most you'll see is my underwear." Sighing in defeat, Cobie walked into the changing room.

The changing room had two benches and two lockers. The door locked behind them, probably for security, Cobie thought. He set his duffel bag down and pulled Pravus out and put it to the side. While fishing out his combat gear, Cobie looked over his shoulder to see Taylor pulling off her shirt to reveal her slender shoulder blades and white bra straps.

Cobie pulled off his tie and shirts. To put on the gears shirt but when he took a closer look the combat clothes were a one piece. He sighed and took of his pants. While he was bent over, Cobie took the opportunity to look back again. He looked Taylor right in the eyes. She had on the suit already and was lacing up her boots.

"You take too long to get dressed. You should to stop trying to steal peeks at me and focus on getting dressed." When Cobie quickly looked away and got out of his pants, Taylor laughed.

Cobie couldn't get into the gear quick enough. Soon he was lacing up his boots with Taylor walking to his back. "What are you doing?" Cobie asked as he finished tying his boots.

"Zipping you up," She zipped up the gear and he could feel the suit getting tighter. Suddenly it pressed down on his muscles and the gel became hard over his chest, shoulders and back. It also got hard around knees and elbows. Cobie rolled his shoulders and it felt completely natural to him. "My turn," Taylor said, and turned her back to him.

He zipped her up and watched as the gel hardened around the same places and protruded where her chest was. The zipper disappeared into the gel to prevent the gear to fall off. Taylor said a quick thanks and walked away to her spear. When she picked it up, it expanded to its full size. She put it to her back and the gel formed around it enough just to hold it in place.

Cobie picked up Pravus and it expanded to its full form and gave a small hiss. With a satisfied smile, Cobie put the sword on his left hip and watched as the gel formed a sheath around it.

There was nothing more to do but wait, so Cobie sat down and faced Taylor. "What's the strategy?"

"I have no clue," Taylor answered.

"At least you're truthful," Cobie sighed again and started to think. "How many things can you shield at once?"

"Probably the both of us, but I don't know my range when doing two shields at once." Taylor looked up with a smile.

"If what Halitus said, then if I touch the bots they will die. So I will need to be shielded to get close to them."

"But you won't be able to touch them with a shield over you."

"Then shield all of me except my right arm," Cobie said holding up his arm for enthuses.

"You know this might just work!" Taylor said, getting excited.

"Just watch your back, because I don't know how much I'll be able to do out there."

"I'll be fine, you should be more concerned about yourself." She gave a small laugh.

"We'll see what happens. Who knows, I might get more kills than you," Cobie said, taunting her. Just then a wall at the back of the changing room opened.

"Recruits, please enter arena for evaluation."

"Alright, let's do this," Taylor said, jumping up. Cobie stood up and felt a strong pull from his bond with Taylor. It was filled with fiery determination and with Taylor at his side, he gave a confident smile as he walked forward to the battle.


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

As the two walked through the arena door a masculine voice came over an intercom. "Recruits, Taylor Nelson and Cobie Fells, My name is Professor Kern and I will be your proctor." The two reached the center of the arena. The ground was cement with dirt scattered around on it. The area was dark, but Cobie could make out a window opposite of the entrance. It was on the second story, it was something you would see in a football stadium. "You will be tested on your combative capability. This test will determine which stage of training is required for both you and your partner. Are you ready?"

The question hit Cobie as he was looking around at his surroundings. He looked over at Taylor and nudged her with his elbow. She looked back at him with a serious face that could kill. The look shook Cobie. How was he going to be able to give the same kind of seriousness in this kind of situation he wasn't prepared for? It kind of felt like a final he never studied for.

She nodded and Cobie watched as a small shimmer went over the both of them except his right arm, just as he planned. "Yes, we're ready," Cobie replied looking up to the window.

"Very well, good luck recruits," lights from the ceiling illuminated the rest of the arena. People sat in the arena ready to watch the entertainment, probably to evaluate the newcomers, or maybe just to have a little entertainment for their work day. On ground level, Cobie saw three large doors with gates over them. He readied himself when the entrance closed and they opened.

Taylor pulled out her spear and took what looked like a trained pose. She put her leg back and with two hands on her spear, ready to strike, she bent her knees. Her serious face never left her face as she gave a small frown and furrowed her brow. Cobie tried to copy her stance slightly. He bent his knees and prepared to start running.

The first bot came out of the open gate, it was sporting a shield and sword. It looked like a human but had a crude smiley face drawn on it. Cobie waited a little bit before he charged, "only one?" He asked.

"It starts off easy and will get harder. This will not be our only opponent," Taylor said with an exhale.

"Well, let's get started," Cobie said with newfound confidence. He ran forward to meet the bot head on. It raised its sword to strike and Cobie held up his left arm. The sword came down and hit the shield. "It worked!" Cobie spun around to the right to get on the outside of the bot. He put his hand on the bot's shoulder. He felt a release like a static shock and the bot twitched.

With his left hand, Cobie pushed it away, but it came right back at him. Instead of using the sword, the bot smashed into him with its shield knocking him to the ground. Taylor's shield absorbed the impact and Cobie rolled to a stop. When he looked back he saw the bot dropping to its knees twitching. After a couple of seconds it fell on its face, dead.

There was a confused sound from the crowd as they saw this, they didn't know Cobie's ability. They didn't know how much it reminded him of his mom. He stood up and saw two more coming from the gates. He clenched his fist as the thought of his mom dying in his arms. The two bots wielded maces. Cobie hated his ability, it killed his friends and his mom. Why was he forced to use it to save others, when it was made to kill? The two bots closed in on him. He closed his eyes and pictured his mother, smiling giving him his car keys for his birthday. How happy he felt. A tear fell from his eye and he smiled. That changed when the image turned to her in him arms, twitching in pain until she died.

Anger filled him and tears streamed down his face. "Cobie!" He opened his eyes to see the two maces bounce off of Taylor's shield. He ripped Pravus from his side and pushed it into the throat of one of the bots. It dropped instantly and Cobie smiled. He pulled the sword from the bot and its face turned into the face of Darren. He dropped the sword just in time for the other bot to swing at his legs. The mace hit the shield, but it still took him to the ground.

"This can't be happening," Cobie whispered to himself. He couldn't use the power without seeing their faces. How could he fight? He saw the bot raising its mace to smash him in the face but a spear tip went through its face. Cobie looked up to see Taylor holding her hand out for him. He took it and stood up.

"Are you okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Cobie lied to her.

"Don't lie. Not here," Taylor said as she looked to see three more bots coming out.

"I can't do this. I can't fight. I see them when I do."

"Cobie, you have to or else all this was for nothing." She turned to look at him. She smiled and he felt the tug on his bond. He nodded just as an arrow bounced off Taylor's shield. The arrow was aimed at her head. She flinched and her hand went to her head, "ow, dammit!" She pulled her hand away and it had blood on it. The serpent in Cobie sprang. "It penetrated my shield somehow. Cobie, you have to be careful now."

Cobie barely heard her, he was angry. The sight of his partner's blood threw the serpent in him into a rage. He will not see he partner hurt. He felt lightheaded as he looked at the three bots, the two on the outside had broadswords and the one in the middle had a bow. He thought he counted a fourth but stopped when he saw who it was. He saw his mother standing behind the archer. Even though she was far away, he could still hear her three words clearly.

"Kill them, Honey," Cobie lost it. He ran forward like an arrow. He thought he could hear Taylor's voice, but the words were muffled. When he reached the swordsman on the right, he slapped the sword with his left hand and knocked it out of the way and punched it in the chest. Cobie felt a huge release through his fist and saw a green flash. The bot was pushed away from him. It stumbled over itself and fell on the floor dead.

Cobie instantly turned and ran at the second swordsman. When he reached the bot it swung at him. Cobie caught it with his left hand and pulled the sword from the bot's grip. He flipped it around and with both hands he ran the bot through its chest. The bot shuddered and simulated a human dying. He saw an arrow fly by his head. He turned to see the bot drawing back another arrow.

"Yes, that's the one that hurt your partner," He heard his mom say to him. "Kill it for me, Cobie."

"Anything for you," Cobie said, clenching his fist. He ran forward at the bot. An arrow bounced off his chest and he laughed as he reached the archer. He punched it in the face and the same light appeared and the bot fell to the ground shaking.

Cobie jumped onto it and punched it in the face again. His mother was standing by him. "Kill him, Honey," She said. Cobie punched it again and felt his knuckles open. "Kill!" He punched it again, blood showed up on the bots hard face. "Kill!" He punched again. "KILL!" This time it wasn't his mom's voice. This one was deeper, darker. A snake was on his arm that struck at the bot when his fist came into contact with the dead bot. The deep voice laughed, "KILL THEM ALL!"

Cobie screamed as he kept punching the dead bot, tears streaming down his face. He sharp pull in his chest stopped him. It was almost painful, but he knew that feeling. It was fear. He looked over at Taylor who was watching him. Her serious face was replaced by wide eyed fear. The snake and voice disappeared and Cobie looked at his busted and bleeding hand.

"Taylor, what . . ." Was all he was able to say before he passed out.

Cobie opened his eyes to see a dull light. When he looked around he saw that he was in a hospital room. A TV showed a muted football game. On the left of his bed was an open window letting in a nice breeze. He could see the city during night. Lights from buildings, cars, and traffic lights lit up the outside world. He put his head back and sighed. His head was pounding and he was having trouble remembering what had happened. Something moved by his right arm and he finally noticed Taylor's head on his bed. He looked at his hand and saw that it was wrapped and bandaged. It hurt to move it making him wonder what happened during the test. He put his head back and tried to go back to sleep.

The more he tried the more it became obvious that he wasn't going to be able to fall asleep, Cobie opened his eyes and watched the muted game. The cool breeze helped with his dull headache. The more he tried to remember what happened to put him in the hospital the more his head hurt, so he gave up. He probably just got hit in the head or something.

The door opened and Cobie jumped waking Taylor up. Price walked in with a cool smile. "Cobie, you're awake! Good, it's time you told me the rest of your story." He said as he pulled up a chair next to the bed.

"Now?" Cobie asked sitting up. He hated this man.

"Yes, no negotiation," he said with a smug smile as the door behind him disappeared. Taylor looked at him with hatred too, which surprised Cobie. "So where did we leave off?"


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

"Where did we leave off? Why are you so interested in my past? The way it seems is that everyone here killed their parents or someone close to them. So why does it matter you know what I did?" Cobie asked, leaning forward towards the director.

"I don't know if you noticed, but your power almost kill you yesterday," Price said with an annoyed voice. "You over did it and lost control. You need to learn control, and to first do that is to get over what happened."

"What? I . . . I don't remember much about yesterday. I got my weapon, went to the changing rooms, and then into the arena. But, after that, there's nothing."

Cobie felt a hand on his hand. He knew it was Taylor, "Cobie, you lost control. I felt it, I was scared because I could feel something taking you away. I can't explain it, but it wasn't you anymore."

"It makes sense that you don't remember. Your head hurts right? You exhausted your ability to its limits, which I must say are impressive for a newcomer." Price said with a small smile on his face, like he prided himself on finding a killer. "Anyways, the exhaustion almost killed you, or it started the process anyways. When you over exert yourself, your power will start to feed off anything to give it more power. It starts by eating away at your mind, then it moves to your muscles, and then it eats away the power from your heart."

Cobie touched his head with his good hand and tried to remember the fight.

"You won't remember anything if that's what you're trying. It's gone. The fight, whatever, or whoever you saw. It's all gone, given to your power. You need to be careful from now on, Cobie. At least until you get control."

"And to do that I have to tell you the second half of that day," Cobie said looking up at Price.

"Exactly, but that's not all. Earlier today, the city was issued a challenge, I will not tell you what this is, until you talk and start your way to learning how to control your ability. Remember Cobie, we're here to help you."

"No, if you were here to help me, my mother would be alive and so would my friends. You're here to turn me into your weapon. But, because I have no other choice I'll talk. Before I start, I'll remind you that I will not be your weapon."

"Cobie," Taylor said in a voice softer than a whisper, almost like an exhale.

"We'll see about that, Cobie," Price leaned in slightly. "Talk. Now." And so he did, he told them the second half of the worst day of his life.


	8. Chapter 8

**8**

From the far stall Cobie could hear the groans of the person in the first stall. With tears falling from his face he called out. "Hey man, you okay?" He was answered with a groan. Cobie got up and walk out of his stall. The groans came from the closed stall next to his.

"Cobie, I don't feel very well man." It was Darren's voice, but it was followed by dry heaving.

"Open the stall dude," Cobie said, fear rising in his chest. His best friend can't be sick either. He was answered with another groan. "Open the door!" He grabbed the top of the door and started to shake it. He was losing his mind at the thought of his friend ending up like people in the classroom. He had to help. The latch was released just as Cobie pulled on the door. The backward force threw Cobie to the ground and onto his back.

When he scrambled to his knees he saw his pale friend taking shallow breaths on the ground. "Cobie?" He asked weakly.

"I'm here man, I'm here." Cobie scurried to his friend. When he reached him Darren gave a weak laugh.

"I don't know how this happened man, I was fine this morning. Didn't think I would go out in the guy's bathroom. Damn," Darren said closing his eyes slowly.

Franticly, Cobie reached out and grabbed Darren's arm. "No, you're going to be fine man." Instantly Darren screamed and grabbed his arm then started contorting. Foam came from his mouth and tears fell from his eyes. He looked confused and scared as his last breath passed his lips. His body stopped moving and blood dribbled out of his mouth. His eyes never shut, instead a blood vessel popped in one and blood made his eye red.

Cobie was shaking and crying. He just watched his best friend to die. "What's going on?" Cobie asked himself through sobs. He was completely bawling telling Darren that he was sorry, he didn't know what was happening but he felt responsible.

"What's going on?" He heard the deep voice of the football coach.

Cobie tried to call for help but all that came out were sobs and strangled sounds. The tall bald man came around the corner and looked into the stall. "What the hell! What happened? Kid are you okay?" He grabbed Cobie's shoulder and screamed in pain. When Cobie looked back the man was cringing holding his hand. "What did you do to me?"

"I . . ." Cobie tried to talk but couldn't as he saw the man start to convulse. He closed his eyes and just listened to the man die until the sounds stopped. When he looked back the coach laid in a spread eagle formation with blood streaming from his nose mouth.

"I'm sorry," Cobie said over and over starring at the coach. He came to the conclusion that he's killing everyone. That whenever he gets touched by anyone they die. He slowly stood up, shaking the whole way. Step by step he left the bathroom, apologizing silently through his sobs. He saw paramedics and police rushing into the school.

"Cobie?" He heard his mother's voice from behind him. He turned around and saw her rushing towards him.

"No! Stay away from me!" He turned and ran, he couldn't let his mom touch him. He didn't know where he was going, but he ran right into a paramedic and pushed past him with his shoulder. Cobie cringed as he heard the man fall and cry in pain as he died. He rounded the corner listening to his mom call out his name. Then she screamed as she saw the man dying. Cobie knew where to go to hide. With tears streaming down his face and he ran down the white and blue halls to the band room. It was never locked so he pushed it open and ran straight to where the tuba was stored. He pulled out the tuba and climbed into the empty space and closed the door.

It was dark in there, the only light was the crack between the doors. There he cried and thought about the people he just killed. Their faces and screams rang in his head. He knew that the police will be looking for him. One would grab him and die and the others would shoot him right there. He was thinking for anyway out of the school, but the police most likely have the school surrounded and won't let anyone in or out, until the killer is caught.

He heard the door to the band room open and footsteps rang out on the linoleum before reaching the carpeted steps that led to the instrument cubbies where he was hiding. It was only one but if they touched him the screams would bring more.

Who ever it was started to hum softly, he recognized the sound instantly. It was the band teacher's kid. Her mom is probably looking for her now, which explains why the band room was empty. The humming got closer then stopped. A small voice rang out, "Why is this one out?" The little girl made a straining noise as she tried to lift the tuba and move it back to the cubby. It didn't take long for her to give up. The small sounds of her feet on the carpeted floor came closer to where he was hiding.

He heard the band room door open, "Jessica!" The voice called out. It was the band room teacher. The steps stopped.

"Up here mommy! There's a thingy out of its spot. It's too big for me!" He heard the teacher start running to her daughter. Without warning the door to where he was hiding opened and he saw the sweet face of Jessica.

"Get away from me!" Cobie yelled at the little girl. She jumped back and started to cry. Better her sad and scared than dead. The teacher, Mrs. Aims, made it to where her daughter was crying.

"Cobie, are you okay?" She asked as she looked at his face.

"No," was all he said and started to cry. He heard footsteps coming towards him.

"It's okay, Cobie, let's get you out of there." He heard her say.

"No, stay away from me!" He cried out, but it was too late because her hand landed on his shoulder. She flinched back and screamed. "No," Cobie whispered as she fell to the ground grunting as blood came from her nose and mouth. Jessica started to scream and cry. She didn't know what to do.

Cobie looked at her and made eye contact. "I'm sorry, Jessica. I'm so sorry." She screamed again. Mrs. Aims crawled over to her, but she backed away from her mom's bloody face.

Through her pain she tried to calm down her baby, "Shhh, it'll be okay baby." She was obviously trying to hide the pain to protect her baby. "It'll be," she started gasping for air and tears streamed down her face. She reached for her kid but Jessica just ran away from her dying mom.

"I'm sorry," Cobie whispered. Gasping and chocking on her own blood she looked at me as if asking for help. Cobie closed his eyes and cried as he heard her stop struggling.

The band room opened and he heard the kid running out crying. The door closed and he got up. He couldn't be here with another body.

He slowly walked out of the band room. He walked past closed doors, knowing kids were in there hiding from the "intruder."

"Cobie!" He heard his mother call out.

How was she still in the school? The police should have made her leave, unless she tried to follow her son.

"Cobie, stop right now," she called out, but he wasn't going to let her die. He tried to run but tripped over himself. He was dizzy and scared. "Cobie, what's going on?"

He heard her getting closer but he couldn't see right, the world was blending together. "Mom, don't," but tragedy strikes again. His moms hand grabbed his. "No," he said as she screamed. She fell into his arms and she started to shake more and foam filled her mouth. His dizziness fell away and he was suddenly filled with energy. He watched his mom die in full HD. Blood filled her eyes and streamed out like she was crying blood.

Cobie cried the whole time and she was trying to look for him through the blood in her eyes. "Mom, I'm so sorry." He said crying over her.

"C. . . C . . . Cobie." She said as her head went limp and her last breath left her body.

Just then police came around the corner weapons drawn at Cobie. "Put your hands above your head and step away from the woman." One of them said.

"She's my mom!" Cobie screamed not getting up even though he was filled with energy.

"You killed her! You're a monster!" The man with the gun shouted. "Stand up, now!"

"No, I'm not a monster. I didn't mean it." Cobie said putting his forehead on his mother's.

He heard the cocking of the handguns. "You killed her, you don't deserve to live! You killed her! You killed her!" He was confused why they were screaming at him what he was thinking. "You killed her!"

Cobie couldn't handle it anymore. He screamed and felt all his energy leave him. The police all dropped to the ground screaming in pain. Blood poured from their mouths as they died. One shot himself in the head. He heard screaming from the room he was by and more screaming from down the hall. There was a thud from the other side of the classroom door and blood oozed from under the crack.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he flinched. When he looked up he saw a girl about his age with Hazel eyes. His heart skipped a beat just from her beauty. Then he passed out.

"There now you know everything that happened. How I killed my best friend, a kid's mother, my mom, and countless others." Cobie said, laying back tears falling from his eyes.

"They never called you a monster," Taylor said from beside him.

"What?" Cobie put his head up and looked at Taylor.

"They never did. I was there, they were asking what happened and you started to scream at them that you didn't mean it and that you weren't a monster. Then you screamed and they all died."

"Except you because of your power," Cobie said, putting his head back. "Why didn't you save them?"

"I was too slow. I never saw it coming and by the time I realized what was happening they were dead." She looked down and Cobie could have sworn he heard her sniff and stifle a sob.

"Cobie, you have killed the most people out of all of the recruits here. A total of seventy-four people died because of you. This is one thing you have to come to terms with. A burden we all must carry."

"The most kills? God you make it sound like a competition to see who can be the better murderer."

"I killed thirteen people, when I first discovered my powers. It was at my birthday party, a clown scared me and I threw up a shield and sent him flying into the air. He landed on his head and died right in front of me. After that I killed both my mom and dad by pushing them against a wall and crushing them. Director Price found me crying in an alley. He had a tracker with him, that's how he found me. He made me go through the same process. You're not the only one Cobie." Taylor said, spilling out her story holding herself back from crying the whole time.

"The first step is to overcome your past. To move on from what you did when you couldn't control yourself. This is why control is important, if you lose control you can not only kill yourself but countless others."

"What happened to my school?" Cobie asked, ignoring the director's words.

"They closed it down and are looking for what happened, they found seventy-five bodies, including yours. All dead from a mysterious poison," Price said in a stern voice.

"Oh. So I will never be mentioned or investigated," Cobie said softly. "That's a relief I guess."

"Cobie, I'm going to give you something. It's not meant to hurt you, but to be a driving factor in forgetting the past. Come to terms with each one of these. One by one if necessary, as long as it's done." He gave Cobie a manila envelope. He took it and looked at the bottom side. Written in black marker was a word, "Cyanide."

"What's this?" Cobie asked, pointing at the word.

"That's your given code name, Cyanide."

"Mine's Aegis," Taylor said grabbing his hand and tugging on his connection.

"Aegis and Cyanide? A protector and a killer. A perfect match." Cobie said as he opened the envelope. He pulled out a stack of pictures held together with a rubber band. His hand went to his mouth and tears fell from his eyes. "It's only been a couple of days, how can they already have these?"

"It's been a little bit longer than a couple of days, Cobie. We kept you a sleeping state for two months before we interrogated you. We used that time to study you and make sure that you were healthy before we questioned you." Price said, standing up. "It's time for me to go. Aegis, keep an eye on Cyanide here." Price walked out of the room with the door reappearing.

"I'm tired, Taylor. Mind if I go to sleep?" Cobie asked, crying.

"Of course, I'll be right here if you need me." She said with a smile, pulling on the bond trying to comfort him.

"I was wondering if you'd hold me," Cobie said, sniffing and wiping his eyes.

"You're such a child," she said as smiled and she stood up. Cobie put the pictures away in the envelope and put them on the side table.

"Thank you," he said as he wrapped his arms around her and cried into her shoulder, the whole time he cried, Taylor held him and told him it was all okay and tried to calm him down by giving him reassurance with their bond. It didn't work as he cried himself to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**9**

Friday came and Cobie and his partner we're finally able to go back to their dorm. "I guess it's good they let you out of the infirmary tonight," Taylor said, dropping down onto the couch.

"I guess so, but Price still never held up his end of the bargain. He was going to tell us something about a challenge or something." Cobie said, laying the envelope on the coffee table before sitting on the other side of the couch. "Also, he never explained anything about me being frozen for that long. It's not I'm mad anymore, I just have to get used to not knowing anything."

"The director usually keeps us in the dark until the last minute on most everything. I've heard he does the same thing with those going on missions or training exercises. Probably to keep everyone on their toes and keep them from getting complacent." Taylor stretched back and groaned. Cobie tried to ignore the fabric tightening around her chest.

Cobie put his feet up on the coffee table and leaned back, putting his hands on his head. "I guess that makes sense, but man am I getting tired of this place."

"You've only been here a few days, most of which were in the hospital," Taylor said. Cobie looked at her and saw that she was looking toward the manila envelope on the table.

"A little over two months if you count that I was frozen. Can you tell me about that?" Cobie said, trying to make sure the conversation doesn't go to the pictures.

"Well, I think it has to do with the fact that you released a huge amount of power. It could be that the director wanted to make sure it was bled out of you when you got here sop you wouldn't kill people you passed in the hallways." Taylor looked at him and gave a small smile.

"You just have all the answers don't you," Cobie said, looking away from here and at the ceiling. "I'm not sure I can do this, the whole fighting thing anyways. All I know is how to make a fist and punch." Cobie punched up into the air as to prove a point.

"Don't worry about that, they'll teach you how to fight. Even better than a punch," She playfully reached over and punched him in the arm. "You'll be strong and have some cool moves, especially since they teach you fighting styles that complement your power. You'll be practically invincible with my backup too."

"Invincible? That sounds pretty fun, plus I've always wanted to learn how to fight, I just didn't have a lot of motivation." He said, rubbing his arm and looking at Taylor with a smile.

"Well now you do," Taylor said giving Cobie a smug smile.

"And what's that, the search for power or the will to crush my enemies? Maybe it's motivation to avenge my mother's death, and all of those people. But, how can I avenge someone when I'm the one who killed them." Cobie's smile faded and he looked at the envelope on the table.

"You can curse God or whatever it is that gave you the power, but what good will that do? I think, instead of looking for vengeance you should look for forgiveness. Not forgiveness from the dead, but forgiveness from yourself. You're living in a dark world that you created. You have to go through each and every one of those pictures and forgive yourself. It was never your fault so you have to come to terms with the fact that you couldn't control what happened." Taylor said, putting her hand on the table.

"Okay, so first off the whole thing about forgiving myself makes no sense," Cobie laughed. "But maybe I can come to terms with it. Just not tonight," he looked at Taylor and smiled, she laughed in return.

"You jackass, I went through that entire speech trying to sound all important and philosophic. And you just crush it, man what nerve. Haven't you ever heard that women are always right?"

"Wait, you're a woman?" Cobie said, laughing as she jumped up off the couch.

"Oh you're so dead," Taylor said, jumping on him. "I'm sending you straight back to the infirmary!" She grabbed his arm and put it behind his head then pulled.

"Ouch, holy crap! Why are you so strong?" Cobie said, wincing in pain.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!" Taylor barked as she started tickling Cobie. He flinched and bucked her away from him.

Out of breath he stood up, "That was totally unfair."

"Afraid of a little tickling?" Taylor asked with a mischievous smile.

"I'm not a fan of touching if that's what you're asking," Cobie said, with a small smile as he bent his knees.

"Looks like you might be lying," Taylor said squinting her eyes.

Cobie was ready to move and dodge her attacks, he was watching her carefully waiting for her strike. Instead she straightened her back and yawned. "It's late, I'm going to bed." She turned around towards her door and gave him a small wave. "Don't stay up too late, Strawberry."

"That's not even relevant anymore, I have my own shampoo." Cobie said trying to make a point.

"Don't care," Taylor said as her door closed behind her.

Cobie suddenly felt tired as well so he turned off the lights and made his way to his bed, but not before looking at the envelope of the table. His dreams haunted him that night as he saw the little girl. He dreamt that she was the one who touched him, and that he had to watch her die in front of him in the band room. He dreamt that the kid's mom cursed him, why wouldn't she? She just watched her baby die. Even in his dreams Cobie saw himself as a monster.

The rest of the weekend went by slowly as Cobie and Taylor just spent it talking and watching T.V. The whole time the envelope sat on the table, Cobie refused to pick it up just yet. The two were becoming closer but they still had a long way to becoming true partners.

That Monday as Cobie was waking up to his annoying alarm clock he could hear the shower running. He wondered how Taylor could wake up so early and still have the energy to tease him all day and night. With a sigh he got up out of bed and walked into the living area and sat on the couch.

His eyes traveled to the envelope and he gave out a small groan. "I guess I have to pick it up sometime," He said as he leaned over and picked it up. With a deep breath Cobie opened it up and took out the first picture. It was a gravestone for a guy he killed. The name was familiar and Cobie put a face to the name. He killed at least half of the school population to include the stat athlete that he was looking at.

"You would have gone far, Brett. I wish that I never went to school that day. Maybe then this whole thing wouldn't have happened. I heard you were going to go to school on a full ride. It was all an accident. I'm sorry," Cobie said, with a tear streaming down his face, he felt some weight taken off his shoulders, but it wasn't enough to stop it from crushing him. He suddenly felt a pull from Taylor who was still in the shower. She was trying to give him confidence and reassurance. He smiled and pulled out the next picture.

He made it through about three more pictures when heard Taylor's voice. "I'm glad you started that."

Cobie jumped not expecting her voice. He never heard the water turn off. When he turned around he saw her in just a towel. He instantly looked away, "why don't you get dressed in the bathroom?"

"That would take too much time for you. I mean you have to take a shower too. Plus we're partners it shouldn't really matter how you see me." Taylor said as she walked to her room. "And stop feeling so embarrassed, you're not the one that's half-naked."

"Whatever," Cobie sighed as he turned towards the shower with a red face. He could feel Taylor's humor as he closed the bathroom door and stripped down.

After he was dressed and ready for school he met Taylor at the door. "So come to think about it, where do we even go?"

"Well, I think we're going to get greeted by our escort soon. So, let's just head towards the school house." Taylor said opening the door. As soon as she did, Dexter had his hand ready to knock on the door.

"Perfect timing I guess," Dexter said smiling.

Taylor exhaled annoyed, "I was hoping to avoid you. We know our way around." She crossed her arms and scowled at him.

"I'm sure you do, but the order to escort you two was given to me by the Director so I'm sure you can understand." Dexter responded, leaning against the door frame. He obviously wasn't going anywhere without the two.

Cobie tried to hold back a laugh, but failed as a weird sound snort came out of his mouth. The two looked at him confused. "What?" Cobie asked giggling. "It's kind of like an anime where the short girl acts all tough to the tall dude." At that Dexter started to laugh and Cobie could feel the anger resonating from Taylor.

Taylor turned back to Dexter, "fine, whatever. Let's just go." Dexter popped off the doors frame and turned away from the two.

"Alright, follow me," he said as he walked away from the door.

After about five minutes of walking the corridors Cobie pulled Taylor farther back from Dexter. "I don't get it, why do you hate him?" Cobie whispered to her.

"He's a terrible person that doesn't care about anyone else's feelings, not even his partner." She said, leaning into Cobie's ear.

"That doesn't make sense, he seems like a good guy." Cobie whispered back.

"That's only because he's under the Director's orders. I know that when his partner died he didn't care. He shrugged it off like it was nothing."

"Wait a second, his partner is dead? But what about when he said he could hide his partner in smoke the other day?"

"He doesn't talk about his partner because he doesn't care. So, by saying that he can hide his partner he was referencing when he was alive."

"So, you hate him because of that? What if it's just a self defense thing he made up? You know like pretend to hate everyone and not care to protect himself?" Cobie said a little too loud.

Dexter stopped walking, "it's true though. I never cared about my partner. He always talked about leaving the city and joining a faction outside the four cities. He always talked nonsense about how he was going to kill all four directors." Dexter turned towards the two, "we went on a mission one day and he was there." Dexter looked at the ground.

"He?" Cobie asked confused.

"Maou, the leader of the rogue faction. He convinced my partner with so few words. He tried to convince me too. I didn't fall for it, but my partner was leaving me. He was going to betray the city. So I killed him."

Cobie could feel the anger welling up in Taylor. "You killed him! He was my brother and you just kill him? He could have been saved, you had no right to do that!"

"He was already under Maou's control, there was no saving him. Me killing him was justified. He would have used his power against the cities. I could not allow that. Our mission is to protect the city system. We cannot fall into darkness."

"I'll kill you!" Taylor screamed, Cobie could feel her summoning her powers.

"Taylor stop!" Cobie yelled as he put his hand on her shoulder. "It's not worth it. I'm here for you, just like you're here for me."

"You don't understand, he was my brother," tears ran down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry for your loss, but in this world of empowered we have to make sacrifices. He defected from the city system. He went rogue and it was my duty to protect the city." Dexter looked at Taylor with sad eyes. Cobie could almost see tears forming. Dexter took a deep breath, "I'm sorry." He looked at the elevator behind him. "We're here anyways, have a good day." With that he disappeared into smoke and dispersed away from the area.

With tears streaming down her eyes, Taylor collapsed into Cobie. Cobie wrapped his arms around her slender frame as she cried into his chest. She sobbed for her brother as he did for his mother, he knew how it felt. How it felt to lose the most important person in your life.

Taylor held onto to Cobie, her hands pulling on his cloths and her hair falling onto her face. Cobie put his hand on the back of her head and pulled her into a hug. "I know that I'm weak right now, but I promise that no matter what I will protect you with all of my might." He whispered into her ear. "You're all I have left." A tear fell down his face.

The two stood there in the hug for a few minutes until Taylor stopped crying. "Are you okay?" Cobie asked, pulling her back, his hands on her shoulder.

"Yes, I'll be fine as long as I'm with you," she said wiping her eyes. "Thank you, Cobie."

"Don't worry about it. Now what do you say we head down to class?"

"Yeah, let's go." Taylor said, grabbing his hand and walking towards the elevator.

Once the elevator opened up they were met by the guards. The same two guards met the duo. "Hold for scanning," the one with the katana said. He held up the device as it scanned the elevator.

"Two entities, Cyanide and Aegis. Cleared for entry," the robotic voice said. The device flashed red on the screen.

"What is it? I thought we were cleared for entry?" Cobie asked.

"You are, but you are to report to auditorium for a briefing." The one with the katana said. "Required for all new students, there you get your schedule and combat tutor. You'll also get any extra information that would be useful to your training. You how that whole thing is," he explained.

"Where's the auditorium at?" Taylor asked, crossing her arms.

"Take a left then it'll be the first door on the right," it was the throwing knives guy's turn to talk.

"Thanks," Cobie said as he grabbed Taylor's hand and walked past the gate.

The two found and walked into the auditorium. It was pretty big, with rows red seats descending down to the main stage. They were the only two in the room, so it was quite and creepy in the dim light.

An automated voice came over the loud speakers, "Cyanide and Aegis, please make your way to the front row." The two looked at each other, shrugged, and walked down the carpeted steps to the front row.

When the two sat down the lights around the auditorium dimmed and stage lights flickered on. Shortly after that Director Price walked onto the stage, making Cobie sigh.

"Haven't we seen you enough man. What is it this time?" Cobie said under his breath.

"Yeah I heard that," Price said. "Don't you want to hear what I have to say? It'll help you out in the long run. Plus you really have no choice." He smirked.

"I guess, go ahead man," Cobie said, annoyed.

"Well then, let me start by saying welcome to your first real day of training! Since you have both technically graduated high school you will not be required to take anymore classes. This, of course, opens up a whole lot of training opportunities in place of classes." Price looked at Cobie, "especially training designed to help control your abilities. I assume that you've started going through the pictures right?"

Cobie gave a nod, "yeah, not like a really have a choice right?"

Price smiled, "exactly the point, but there is another reason why you two are here, besides a formal welcoming. As I already told a couple of days ago the city was issued a challenge from the other three cities. I think you deserve to know exactly what that is now that your schedule will be completely focused on training," the director said, crossing his arms. "The challenge will be held in a year and a half from now. This gives you the opportunity to grow in your powers and become strong leaders that this city needs."

"What's the challenge?" Cobie asked, looking at Taylor to see if she was as curious as him. She was staying quiet, looking down at her lap, her red hair falling over her eyes. Cobie reached for her bond and felt her sadness. She was still thinking about her brother, Cobie thought. He sent her a quick pull of reassurance to her. The corners of her lips rose into a small smile, which gave Cobie some hope.

"The challenge will be a death match. Two teams of two will enter the battle field and fight the other cities team of four. The victor, from what we've been told wins a bounty of resources for the city and a land expansion that expands out to the outskirts of the destroyed Centralia."

The city of Centralia rang familiar in Cobie's head. It used to be the main hub between the cities. It was the corrupt ruling official in the city system. It made the laws of the five cities and dispatched enforcers. It was a cruel reign controlled by a power hungry man, Jacob Casey. After a new law was passed where the cities taxes were dropped too little to nothing, people celebrated. But it wasn't until later that a new tax was created in the form of people. Children were taken as slaves for Centralia. This was the last straw for the four cities. They rose in arms and marched on Centralia. After three years of fighting Centralia and Jacob Casey were dead, but from this, the cities realized the destructive power of firearms. A treaty was made and signed to ban and destroy all firearms. The cities then formed their own governments and left Centralia in runes as a reminder of what would happen if one city tried to control all.

"And, that's important how? Why would we need to expand the city to the outskirts of the destroyed ruins of an old city?" Cobie asked, leaning back in his seat.

"The expansion isn't really the important part, it's the extra resources that will help the city. So, naturally we are going to respond to the challenge and we're going to win. And that's where you two come in. I saw your fight and know that you two are strong, but require training. If I can get you combat ready in time, I'm sure we'll win."

"I already told you, I don't fight for you," Cobie snapped at Price.

"I remember what you said, Cyanide, but what do you fight for then?" Price asked. Cobie didn't say a word, instead he looked at Taylor. "Oh, I see. Spoken like a true warrior."

"I want to fight," Taylor suddenly said, catching Cobie of guard. She looked at him, "I won't explain why right now, but I will later I promise," She explained.

Cobie took in a deep breath and looked at Price, "fine, we'll train for this challenge. And, if we go, we'll win."

"That's what I hope for, Cyanide," Price said with a wicked smile. "Now then, let's move on to training and tutors. They should be here now anyways." Price looked up at the entrance of the auditorium. "You can come in now," he called out. Cobie looked back to see the door open and a line of people entered the room. They walked in silence until they reached the stage, where they greeted Price with a formal greeting then turned towards the two. There were three in total, one, Cobie's seen before.

He was the elevator guard with the katana. "Cyanide, Aegis. Let me formally introduce your training tutors. Cyanide, this is Grimm," Price said motioning for the guy in all black and pale skin to step forward. He had shaggy hair and rings under his eyes like he hasn't slept in days. "He will be your tutor in controlling your abilities. He is very skilled in power manipulation." He then motioned to the girl standing by Grimm. "Aegis, this is Valkyrie. She will be your tutor in combat. She is skilled in the use of spears." She was tall and muscular and her spear was strapped to her back. Her blonde hair fell down to her shoulders in a neat braid. Valkyrie looked like the type to be extremely girly and hated to get dirty. "And finally, I'm sure you've both met Dash. Cyanide, he will be your tutor in combat. It goes without saying that his skills with the sword are above average. Now that you've been acquainted, I'll leave it to them to train you. Good luck you two!" With that Price just vanished into thin air.

"Must have been in a hurry," Grimm said, dropping his shoulders and putting his hands in his black jeans. "Look I'm busy today, so I'm just going to give you where to report to tomorrow for training and what time." He pulled out a piece of paper.

"Grimm," Valkyrie said with an annoyed voice. "You had that prefilled out?"

"Yep, no need to do anything today," Grimm said, moving behind Valkyrie. Suddenly his voice came from behind Cobie, "Here, take this. Dash and I already came up with your training plan." Cobie jumped and let out a startled yelp.

He landed in front of his seat and turned around to see Grimm smiling in amusement and Taylor gave a small laugh. "Expect the unexpected," Grimm said, holding out the paper.

Cobie didn't know what to say so he just reached out and took the paper from Grimm. He looked at it and it had a room number and a time to report by. "That's for the both of us by the way," Dash said from the stage. "We'll see you tomorrow, enjoy your day off," He said as he walked off the stage and up the stairs.

"You two are extremely lazy," Valkyrie said, as she lifted off the ground and flew over by Grimm, holding her hand out. He put a pen and paper in her hand. She quickly wrote on the paper. "It's the same time and place, but just in case one of you two forget," She held out the paper to Taylor. Once she took the paper Valkyrie smiled. "Have a good night you two," She put her hand on Grimm's shoulder and the two melted into the shadows and disappeared.

"Well, I'm always okay with a day off," Cobie said with a smile, but Taylor did not laugh. Instead she put the paper in her bag and started to walk out of the auditorium. "Aegis, wait up." Cobie called out to her, but all she did was look back at him with tears in her eyes. She shook her head and started running up the steps. Cobie chased her but ran right into a shield she threw up to block him from going after her.

Cobie tried to go around it, but he realized he was put into a box, "Aegis!" Cobie screamed as she ran out of the auditorium. Cobie could feel the pain in her. He out his head against the invisible shield as his anger started to build up in his. He thought back to how she was silent for almost the entire meeting. Cobie felt so stupid that he didn't try harder to comfort her. After a couple of minutes he could feel the anger overwhelming him and he punched the shield. A green flash came from his fist and he watched as green cracks formed into the shield. The green cracks grew throughout the entire shield until it shattered. Cobie looked at his fist. Blood was coming from under the bandages. He reopened the wound, but he didn't care. He just ran up the stairs after Taylor.


End file.
